This year's essay judge was Marshall Cook. Mr. Cook has published several books on writing including Freeing Your Creativity: A Writer's Guide and How to Write With the Skill of a Master and the Genius of a Child. He teaches writing, editing and creativity at the University of Wisconsin. He also puts out the Creativity Connection, a writer's newsletter that offers information, encouragement and inspiration to writers of all sizes and shapes.

"You sent me some fine stories," he said. "I had a very hard time slimming the honorable mentions down to three. But the first, second and third place winners really stood out from all the rest—three excellent stories."

This year's judge was Debbie Feuhrer. Debbie has written for magazines and newspapers for over thirty years covering a vast array of subjects from cars to carnivals, business profiles to humor columns and even writing two ten-minute plays.

"I was incredibly impressed with the interesting writing styles, variety of subjects, and vast array of knowledge exhibited by all the entries.," stated Debbie. "What a total delight to read these stories! I had a difficult time choosing the top three and even deciding their placement."

This year's judge was Penny Duffy. Penny writes in both the academic and trade press. She has a Ph. D. from the University of Minnesota and has published numerous articles and book chapters, and also a book in the area of acquired neurologic communication disorders. She is an editorial consultant and reviewer for several journals. She has recently published a memoir titled, A Stockbridge Homecoming.

"Nostalgia writing can swing between a simple catalog of events, devoid of emotion and excessive sentimentality," said Penny. "The difficult-to-achieve middle ground characterizes the best of the genre. I was honored to have participated in the memories presented in these pieces—family events, funny stories, expressions of longing, hope and innocence. The best entries made an attempt to connect the past with the present in such a way that the reader understands not only a memory, but the impact of that memory on the writer. It is that ephemeral quality that stays with the reader when the piece is done."

This year's judge was Laurel Winter. Laurel's novel, Growing Wings, published in 2000, was one of five finalists for the Mythopeic Award for children's fantasy and won runner-up for best children's fiction from the Society of Midland Authors. She is currently finishing two more novels and a picture book. Her collection of poetry will soon be published by Dark Regions Press.

"Writing fiction for children takes a lot of work, a fresh eye, a fresh ear, a fresh mouth," stated Laurel. "The best entries were those that didn't just remind me of fiction I've read before. Stories come first. If there's a moral, let the story, rather than the author, reveal it. One thing we can all do as writers is read lots of current children's fiction, not just the classics, not just the stories we loved when we were young, or when our children were young."

This year's judge was Mariann Ritzer. Mariann's chapbooks, How To Fall Out of Love and Once I loved Him Madly, ranked in the top ten in Pippistrelle Best of Small Press Awards. Her work has been published in numerous places. For the past eleven years, she has taught creative writing seminars at Waukesha County Technical College. In addition, she has taught writing workshops at the Clearing and St Joseph's Retreat, both in Door County. She has also been the writing program director at The Writing Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point.

"It was a pleasure to judge the entries in this category," stated Mariann. "I read each story four times during the month of July. It was not difficult choosing the winning stories. They stayed with me through all the readings. All the stories had some of the elements that make a good story good (good characterization, tension, fresh language, important details). The winning entries had all the elements."

This year's judge was Paula Sergi. Ms. Sergi is the co-editor of Boomer Girls: Poems by Women from the Baby Boom Generation. Her poems are regularly published and anthologized. She received her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Vermont College. She also is the recipient of a Wisconsin Arts Board Artist Fellowship Award. She served as the judge for the 2000 Writer's Digest Poetry Contest and the 2000 Wisconsin Federation of Poets. She teaches in the English Department at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Paula stated, "Reading these poems made me aware of how powerfully we connect with nature. The most successful poems also demonstrate why the poet has attempted to write them. I am most moved when I am included in the writer's mission, and understand his/her relationship with the world described."

I want to thank everyone who entered and say that from the judges' comments, all should feel proud of their entries. Good job! Remember that every year we have new judges, so enter again in 2003.